


Dulce

by jellijeans



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: A lot - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Reunions, i might add another chapter if i feel like it lmao, ive been in a big tatizeke mood for the past couple of days bc i read by the seashore and cried, no sadness today folks!, so heres them being Soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-20 19:54:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14900936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jellijeans/pseuds/jellijeans
Summary: The War of Heroes lasted two years.In that time, he wrote to Tatiana as often as he could, and prayed that the letters would be delivered; right before he had left, he had proposed to her, sworn his heart to her, knowing that he might see Nyna, and with tears in her eyes she had accepted and merely asked that he come home safe.He had kissed her and promised he would, and he has no intentions of going back on his word.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> boy howdy do i love tatizeke

He speeds through the rain on the back of his horse, feeling the fat droplets slam against his cheeks as he digs in his spurs again.

He must get home.

 

It’s been far, far too long since he’s been able to return to his sweet Tatiana; he washed up on the shores of Valentia fairly early during the War of Shadows, and remained there all throughout the remainder of the war and the peacetime, but heard from King Alm that there was trouble arising in Archanea, and headed back immediately, only to find himself in the midst of the War of Heroes—and in the presence of Nyna.

She’s in the past, he told himself, still tells himself. He loved her, once, but his heart belongs to Tatiana now, and he won’t let anything get in the way of that.

When he looks inside himself, truly searches, he no longer feels anything for Nyna save pity, and perhaps still a smidge of fondness—but there’s no true love to be found for her. Those days are past.

No, his heart belongs to Tatiana, and Tatiana alone.

 

The War of Heroes lasted two years.

 

In that time, he wrote to Tatiana as often as he could, and prayed that the letters would be delivered; right before he had left, he had proposed to her, sworn his heart to her, knowing that he might see Nyna, and with tears in her eyes she had accepted and merely asked that he come home safe.

He had kissed her and promised he would, and he has no intentions of going back on his word.

 

It’s early in the morning now, far too early for anyone to be up, but the boat had finally docked at the port a couple days ago, and he needed to get home. He’s barely slept at all, but his sweet Tatiana comes before anything else.

He’s grateful Conrad gifted him the mask. He would not have been able to get through the war without it.

(He figures he should return it.)

 

The sun is rising just over the horizon when he finally makes it back; he figures Tatiana is up, because she’s always been an early bird, likely because of her years serving at the Temple. It’s been two years since he’s seen the lovely, quaint house he bought for them; small, but charming, and perfectly theirs. The one place he thought about without abandon while in the War of Heroes, and the place he strived to return to. The place he refused to fall in battle for, with the love of his life inside it.

Surely enough, when he approaches the door, he can hear her light humming wafting from inside, and it brings tears to his eyes—he hasn’t heard that sweet a sound in two years. He almost forgot the sound of her voice, even, but he could never  _ truly  _ forget anything about her, no matter how far apart they’re pushed.

Ah, he left his keys inside. He knocks on the door.

“Coming!” is the cheerful call, and his heart catches in his throat.

He hasn’t heard that beautiful siren call in two years, and tears well in his eyes.

He’s home.

 

“Can I help y—” Tatiana begins, her eyes shut in a cheerful smile, but as soon as she opens them, her sentence is cut off. She takes a second just to breathe him in, to process that he’s  _ there _ , finally  _ home _ and  _ safe _ and  _ hers _ , and then tears well up in her eyes, too, and her face scrunches in that way it always does when she cries—

How cute, he thinks—

—and she throws herself around him and sobs.

“Oh, Zeke,” she cries, tears dripping onto his jacket. It smells like him. “Oh, Zeke...”

“I’m home, my sweet,” he breathes, running a hand down her back. “I’m home.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS GETS VAGUELY SUGGESTIVE IM SORRY THERE'S NO ACTUAL NSFW OR ANYTHING

The first night they spend together, they don’t  _ intend _ to do anything, merely sit and enjoy each other’s warmth, each other’s presence; Tatiana is exactly as he remembers her, and, save for a couple new scars, Zeke is exactly as she remembers him.

She lays in bed, her head on his chest, with his arm draped over her back and hand resting on her waist, and just listens to his heartbeat, relishing in it, taking in every moment.

“I love you,” she says softly. “I love you so much, Zeke. I missed you.”

“I missed you too, my love,” he responds, and she can feel his heartbeat speed up slightly. She smiles. How Zeke-esque, how like him, to still become flustered and blushy when she tells him she loves him, even though they’ve been engaged for two years. “More than you could ever know.”

“What was it like, in Archanea?” she asks. He sighs.

“Familiar. I’m glad I’m home.”

She doesn’t press any further on the subject, merely pushes herself up so that she can press a soft, butterfly-light kiss to Zeke’s lips, but just as she pulls away, Zeke places a gentle hand on the back of her neck and brings her lips back to his, deepening it into something far beyond butterfly-light. She absolutely drinks in it, finds herself in him, falls in love with him all over again—not that she ever fell out of love, of course; she could  _ never _ stop loving him—and traces her tongue over his bottom lip, and beneath her, she feels his heartbeat jump to the speed of light, and she laughs against him.

He smiles; once, it was such an unnatural thing for him to do, but in her presence, he finds himself doing so more often than not.

He deepens the kiss further, leaning up and shifting her so that she’s sitting on his lap, and she swings her arm around the back of his neck to pull him closer—his hand grips her waist, and she brings her other hand and rests it on his cheek, and oh  _ gods _ , this is the only thing he’s wanted for  _ two entire years _ —

He brings his other hand around to the back of her head, weaving it under her hair and tugging ever so slightly, and she moans ever so slightly into his mouth, and then he deepens it even further, and they can both feel how absolutely wanting, how absolutely  _ needing _ the other is—

Zeke shifts and places her under him on the bed, tracing a finger from her waist to her hip to everywhere else, and the night feels like it never ends.


End file.
